The company began operating in February 1996 as Great Western Trains, as part of the privatisation of British Rail. In December 1998 it became First Great Western[5] after FirstGroup bought out its partners' shares in Great Western Holdings. In April 2006, First Great Western, First Great Western Link and Wessex Trains were combined into the new Greater Western franchise and brought under the First Great Western brand. The company adopted its current name and a new livery in September 2015 to coincide with the start of an extended franchise that is due to run until April 2020.[1]

First Great Western Link operated the Thames Trains franchise from April 2004 until it was absorbed into the Greater Western franchise in 2006.

On 1 April 2006, the Great Western, Great Western Link and Wessex Trains franchises were combined into a new Greater Western franchise. FirstGroup, National Express and Stagecoach were shortlisted to bid for this new franchise. On 13 December 2005, it was announced that FirstGroup had won the franchise.[13] Originally, First planned to subdivide its services into three categories based on routes.[14] Following feedback from staff and stakeholders, the decision was taken to re-brand and re-livery all services as 'First Great Western'.[15]

In May 2011, FirstGroup announced that it had decided not to take up the option to extend its franchise beyond the end of March 2013. FirstGroup stated that, in the light of the £1bn plan to electrify the Great Western route from London via Bristol to Cardiff, it wanted to try to negotiate a longer-term deal. CEO Tim O'Toole said: "We believe we are best placed to manage these projects and capture the benefits through a longer-term franchise."[16]

By not taking up the option to extend its original franchise contract for a further three years, FirstGroup avoided having to pay £826.6m to the government; it received extra subsidies totalling £133m from the government in 2010.[17]

In March 2012 Arriva, FirstGroup, National Express and Stagecoach were shortlisted to bid for the new franchise. The winner was expected to be announced in December 2012, with the new franchisee taking over in April 2013;[18] however, it was announced in July 2012 that the franchise would be extended, due to the late issue of the Invitation to Tender (ITT).[19] The ITT ran from the end of July until October 2012. The winner would have been announced in March 2013, and taken on the franchise from 21 July 2013 until the end of July 2028.[20] The new franchise would include the introduction of new Intercity Express Trains, capacity enhancements and smart ticketing.[21] The award of the franchise was again delayed in October 2012, while the Department for Transport reviewed the way rail franchises are awarded.

In January 2013, the government announced that the current competition for the franchise had been terminated, and that FirstGroup's contract had been extended until October 2013.[22] A two-year franchise extension until September 2015 was agreed in October 2013,[23][24] and subsequently extended until March 2019.[25][26][27] A further extension to April 2019 was granted in March 2015.[28]

The refurbishment of first class carriages in 2014 included interiors that featured a new GWR logo[29] and no First branding. The whole company was rebranded as Great Western Railway (GWR) on 20 September 2015 and introduced a green livery in recognition of the former Great Western Railway.[30][31] The new livery was introduced when HST interiors were refurbished, and on sleeper carriages and Class 57/6 locomotives.[32]

Chippenham, Melksham, Trowbridge One train per day extended to/from Frome; trains also use the Golden Valley Line between Gloucester and Swindon on extensions - one morning service from Gloucester to Southampton as well as a service to Cheltenham Spa from Westbury and one evening service from Cheltenham Spa to Southampton and another Westbury to Cheltenham Spa.

Great Western Railway is the only major UK rail operator which still has restaurant cars. These operate on certain West Country and Wales trains to/from London Paddington and are available to First Class and Standard Class passengers, though only First Class passengers may make advance reservations and have priority over seats in the restaurant.[36] Meals in the restaurant car are not included in the price of rail tickets.

GWR has First Class on all its long distance high speed services, and some local services in London on the Class 166 turbos. First Class on the HSTs includes leather seating with tables at every seat as well as an at-seat service provided by a customer host, on most longer journeys.[37] Following the most recent refurbishment, done shortly prior to when the company rebranded as Great Western Railway, these carriages also include new USB points at each table, alongside the traditional three-pin sockets. There is upgraded WiFi throughout the First Class carriages.[37]

This is a buffet car service which is available on all long-distance services operated by HSTs (not on the newer Intercity Express Trains, which have at-seat trolley service). It can be found in coach K or coach F, usually separating First and Standard class accommodation. High density sets have smaller "micro buffets" at one end of standard class coach F.

In 2004–2005, 79.6% of trains arrived on time (defined as within 10 minutes of their scheduled arrival time).[38] On 22 December 2006, the First Great Western InterCity service was declared the worst in Britain for delays, according to figures from the Office of Rail Regulation, with more than one in four trains running late.[39] First was also the only train company to achieve a year-on-year fall in performance results.[citation needed]

First Great Western admitted to misreporting the number of cancellations in the period from August to December 2007, revised figures showing the company to have breached the cancellation threshold in the franchise contract. Specifically the company was alleged to have deliberately cancelled trains on the day prior to service without the prior approval of the Department for Transport, and without recording these cancellations on their performance figures. The company was also accused of falsifying records in order to claim dispensation for large numbers of cancellations.[40] First Great Western was named in a Passenger Focus survey as the worst train operating company for 2007.[41]

On 6 September 2007 FirstGroup announced changes to its management structure, apparently designed to strengthen the First Great Western commuter services. Anthony Smith, head of the rail users council Passenger Focus commented, "A fresh management approach is welcome. Clearly, looking at the passenger satisfaction scores for First Great Western, the train company and Network Rail have a lot to do. However, passengers will believe it when they see improvements."[42]

Some delays are attributable to Network Rail rather than the operator, as the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) found in September 2007,[43] when it remarked that the First Great Western service continued "to suffer from very high levels of delays attributed to Network Rail" and described Network Rail's performance as "exceptionally disappointing".

By 2009, passenger satisfaction with First Great Western was described by Passenger Focus as having "significantly improved".[44]

The company is no longer the worst-performing UK rail operator, a title which it held for a long period. However, the Which? survey of rail passengers published in February 2013 showed the company scoring lowest of the larger operators with less than 40% satisfaction (Virgin, which topped the poll, managed 67%).[45]

The latest punctuality statistics to be released by Network Rail for period 7 of 2013/2014 were 89.3% PPM (Public Performance Measure) and a MAA (Moving Annual Average) of 88.8% for the 12 months up to 12 October 2013.[46]

In February 2008 the Secretary of State for Transport stated that FGW had "fallen persistently short of customers' expectations and been unacceptable to both passengers and government". She issued First Great Western with a Breach Notice for misreporting cancellations and a Remedial Plan Notice as a result of exceptionally high levels of cancellations and low passenger satisfaction. As part of the Remedial Plan Notice, First Great Western was required to achieve improvement milestones, to lease five more Class 150 units to allow three-car trains to be used on Portsmouth-Cardiff services, to undertake a much more extensive refurbishment of the Thames Turbo fleet, to offer 50% higher compensation for the duration of the franchise, to offer 500,000 more cheap tickets on off-peak services, and to improve station customer information systems. Failure to do this would result in FGW losing its franchise. FirstGroup's railway operating profit, meanwhile, was reported to have risen 10% in the six months to September 2007.[47][48]

Fake tickets distributed by protestors on 22 January 2007

By June 2009, FGW had transformed its performance to become one of the UK rail network's more punctual operators, recording 94.6% of trains arriving on time.[49] In February 2010 FGW was named Train Operator of the Year at the national Rail Business awards. Presenting the award, judges said, "First Great Western provides an extensive network of commuter, regional, local and intercity trains. The systems they have put into place over the last two years have made a significant improvement to the service they now provide."[50]

However, in February 2015 First Great Western came 17th (out of 21) in Which? magazine's Best and worst UK train companies survey. Customers gave First Great Western a score of 47% (compared to the worst performing operator, Thameslink and Great Northern, with a score of 43%, and the best performing operator, Grand Central, with a score of 76%). First Great Western also scored 3/5 stars across five of six specific categories, apart from Value for money in which First Great Western scored 2/5 stars.[51]

First Great Western has been criticised for overcrowded trains, and in January 2007 commuters on the Bath-Bristol service staged a protest against overcrowding. Participants were issued with imitation tickets printed with "Ticket type: standing only", "Class: cattle truck", "Route: hell and back", "Price: up 12%". The company threatened protestors with criminal prosecution and fines of £5,000, but staff failed to enforce ticket requirements.[54] Alison Forster, First Great Western's Managing Director at that time, apologised to customers.[55]

In January 2008 another fare strike was held as a passenger group said that not enough improvements have been made, despite First Great Western announcing that 2008 season tickets and car parking charges would be frozen until the end of the year.[56][57]

In August 2010 First Great Western was shown to have operated all of the top ten most overcrowded trains in England and Wales, mostly between Reading and London Paddington.[58] By December 2011, this had reduced to two.[59]

In 2011 First Great Western was revealed to be the train company with the highest levels of overcrowding: an average of 16.6% of passengers were shown to standing during the morning and evening peak times.[60] In 2012 it held the record for the most overcrowded train, carrying nearly twice its capacity, the 07:44 Henley-on-Thames to London Paddington.[59] Paddington, the London terminus for many FGW services, was identified as the most overcrowded station.[58] The company was also listed as the operator with the most passengers in excess of capacity in the south east region in 2012.[61]

In July 2018, a disabled woman was threatened by Great Western Railway staff with police action and removal from the train she was travelling in, for using a disabled space for her mobility scooter.[62] Canadian-born comedian Tanyalee Davis, who has a form of dwarfism, said she was humiliated when a Great Western Railway guard made an announcement that she was "causing problems" which had delayed the train. The incident occurred after a woman travelling with a young child demanded that Davis make way for her pram.[63] GWR said the incident should not have happened and “No one travelling with us should be left feeling like this".[64]

The pre-imminent arrival of the new Class 800 saw a series of strikes by the RMT union over who has the right to control the doors, First Great Western as it was known at the time, wanted to replace guards with driver-only operation (DOO), however following several discussions it was agreed to keep guards on all IET services.[65] Another strike took place
In early December 2016, amidst a background of ongoing rail strikes on a national level, the RMT ballotted Servest UK workers who were employed on an outsourcing contract to GWR as cleaners; the ballot passed in favour of strike action by 98%. A disruptive transfer period in the outsourcing contract, from Mitie to Servest UK, had resulted in what the RMT referred to as the creation of a "two-tier workforce" amongst cleaners at GWR, with an inequality in pay and working conditions between cleaners employed directly by GWR and those outsourced to Servest UK.[66] Two 24-hour strikes were held between 0600–0600 on 16–17 December and 23–24 December,[67] followed by a 48-hour strike between 0600 on 19 January and 0600 on 21 January 2017.[68] Further industrial action was suspended by the RMT following the January strike as a result of an improvement in ongoing negotiations between the RMT, GWR and Servest UK.[69] The dispute was formally resolved in July 2017 as RMT members voted in favour of accepting a new pay deal.[70]

Great Western Railway inherited a fleet of InterCity 125 sets (Class 43 power cars and Mark 3 Coaches) and Class 57 locomotives and Mark 3 sleeper coaches from BR. In 2006, it inherited a fleet of Class 165 and Class 166 units from First Great Western Link, and a fleet of Class 143, Class 150, Class 153 and Class 158 units from Wessex Trains. The majority of GWR services are operated using diesel trains, although electric trains began limited operations in September 2016, and a large part of the GWR network is due to be electrified by Network Rail.

GWR operates most long-distance services between London and destinations in the West of the network such as Paignton, Newquay (summer), Plymouth and Penzance, using its fleet of 58 HST "InterCity 125" sets.[71] These sets consist of seven or eight Mark 3 coaches between two Class 43 locomotives; GWR operates the largest InterCity 125 fleet and owns five sets outright; the rest are leased. From 2009 to 2012 all the company's intercity services were worked by HSTs except the Night Riviera sleeper service between London Paddington and Penzance, until Class 180s were reintroduced on the Cotswold line.[72] These trains also worked all Intercity services from London to Bristol/Cardiff/Cheltenham/Swansea and Worcester, however as of July 2018 the majority of these services are now operated by Class 800 IETs, although a few peak services remain operated by HSTs.

GWR's High Speed Train fleet were refurbished by Bombardier in Derby and Ilford between 2006 and 2008,[73] with leather seats introduced in First Class, redesigned toilets, a redesigned buffet, and at-seat power points. The company opted for mainly airline seats, giving more seats per train.

After a successful trial by Angel Trains and FGW in 2004, two power cars received new MTU engines while two received new Paxman/MAN VP185s, fitted by Brush Traction of Loughborough. The MTU engine proved the better option, both for reliability and for emissions, resulting in FGW, Brush and Angel Trains starting the HST Modernisation programme. The last power cars to be re-engineered were released in April 2008, while several other companies' HSTs have now all undergone a similar programme.[74]

GWR are to retain 24 powercars and 48 carriages to form 11 four-carriage sets for use on local services between Cardiff and Penzance. These will be fitted with automatic doors and controlled emission toilets, to allow their operation beyond 2020, at Doncaster Works.[76]

The first of the Class 800 trains was introduced into passenger service on 16 October 2017.[77] Teething problems surfaced on the inaugural service, with a leaking air conditioning unit leading to the service running late.[78]

Four Class 57/6 locomotives are used to operate the Night Riviera Sleeper services, and also to provide emergency haulage for failed HST sets.[79] Occasionally, GWR hires 57/3 Direct Rail Services locomotives to operate the Night Riviera, if their own are stopped for maintenance and unavailable for traffic.[80]

In response to its Remedial Plan Notice, First Great Western undertook a more thorough refurbishment of the Thames Turbo fleet than originally planned:[81] the trains were to be fitted with improved lighting, carpets, toilets, and a revised seating layout.[82] This refurbishment started in September 2016.

The Class 387 "Electrostar" is a four-coach EMU built by Bombardier, with a 2+2 seating layout, tables, plug-sockets and free WiFi. They can operate in four, eight and twelve-coach formations. The class began to enter service in September 2016 on weekday peak services between London Paddington and Hayes & Harlington, using the overhead electrical equipment used by Heathrow Express. Services using the class were extended to Maidenhead in May 2017[83] and to Didcot Parkway in January 2018. They will operate on more Thames Valley routes once electrification work is complete.[84]

Bombardier Transportation will modify twelve of these by December 2019 at Ilford Depot with new first class seating, wi-fi, luggage racks and on-board entertainment to operate Heathrow Express services, replacing the existing Class 332.[4]

First Great Western inherited the small fleet of seven two-coach Class 143 Pacer railbuses from Wessex Trains following the franchise merger in April 2006.[85][86] They are currently used on suburban services in and around Exeter. The Class 143 fleet was fully refurbished during 2008 and 2009, and painted in the same livery as the rest of the West of England fleet.[87] Since they are unable to meet an accessibility requirement, they will be withdrawn at the end of 2019 unless they receive an extensive refurbishment proposed by Porterbrook (who own the class 143s and class 144s).[88] The type is due to be replaced by Class 158 units, cascaded from the Bristol area.[89]

Some units have been repainted in the green GWR livery, without any interior refurbishment. The first unit repainted was 143603 in July 2017.

In late 2011 the two original three-car prototype Class 150Sprinter units (Nos. 150001 and 150002) were transferred from London Midland to work services on the Reading to Basingstoke Line, allowing the release of Class 165 and 166 units to reinforce other Thames Valley services.[90] They were transferred to West of England services in 2017.

First Great Western received a cascade of 15 Class 150/1 DMUs from London Midland and London Overground Rail Operations in 2010/11, following the delivery of Class 172Turbostar units to those franchises. These allowed the Class 142 units to be returned to the Northern Rail franchise, and for the Class 143 units to move south to work the Devon and Cornwall branch lines rather than Bristol area commuter services.[91]

The fleet of 17 two-coach Class 150 Sprinter units was inherited from Wessex Trains as part of the Greater Western franchise shuffle. The fleet had been refurbished by Wessex Trains in 2003, with 2+2 seating arranged in a mixture of 'airline' (face to back) and table seating. The fleet is widespread throughout the former Wessex area, and carried a maroon livery with advertising vinyls for South West Tourism. Each unit was sponsored by a district, town or attraction and carried a unique livery. Most received names of attractions, places and branch lines. Two units were repainted into the new First 'Local' livery, but all units are now due to receive the new green GWR livery. As part of a national fleet shuffle, eight units went to Arriva Trains Wales on 10 December 2006, and were replaced with 8 Class 158 units.

First Great Western received five extra Class 150/2 units in May 2007 as part of its Remedial Plan Notice, to enable three-car Class 158 trains to operate on the Portsmouth-Cardiff services.[81] Five Class 150 sets were hired from Arriva Trains Wales from March 2008 until they were returned in November 2010.

The Class 153 is a diesel railcar converted from a Class 155 two-coach unit in the early 1990s. GWR has 12, used to strengthen services and on some of the quieter branch lines, although stock shortages often see them operate on their own on busier routes. The refurbishment of class 153s was carried out by Wabtec in Eastleigh,[93] and was completed in early June 2008[94]

Unit 153305 returned to St Philip's Marsh Depot in Bristol from Long Marston in May 2017 repainted in a plain white livery as the unit was due to go off-lease from GWR in late-2017/early-2018, however subsequent units have been repainted in the green livery introduced for refurbished trains in 2015 (even though the class 153s are not being refurbished) as the leases have been extended for a short period.[citation needed]

As of January 2018, GWR's nine remaining Class 153s will begin taking-over services on the Cornish branch lines releasing Class 150/1s for cascade and Class 150/2s for regional services.[citation needed]

In May 2018, three of GWR's Class 153s (153305, 153373 and 153380) went off-lease and transferred to Northern. In late June 2018, a further six 153s went off-lease. 153318, 153368, 153372 and 153382 have moved to East Midlands Trains while 153370 and 153377 have moved to Northern. This means that the whole 153 fleet in GWR's green livery have left. This leaves currently 5 remaining 153s with GWR which are Porterbrook 153325, 153329, 153333, 153361 and 153369, however it is planned that these remaining 5 will transfer to Transport for Wales in 2019.

The Class 158 is a two- or three-coach DMU used on regional express services in the former Wessex Trains area. In February 2008, as part of its Remedial Plan Notice, First Great Western announced that it would form some hybrid 3-car Class 158 units in March 2008, made possible by the transfer of five Class 150/2 units from Arriva Trains Wales.[81] There are now ten hybrid units in operation and, combined with the non-hybrid 3-car unit, this provides eleven 3-car units to operate services between Portsmouth and Cardiff, Great Malvern and Brighton, and Great Malvern and Weymouth. After the introduction of Class 150/1 trains from London Overground and London Midland, three of the remaining five 2-coach Class 158s will be reformed to provide two further 3-coach Class 158s.[95]

The fleet was refurbished in a programme begun in 2007,[96] which included fitting of reupholstered seats, new lighting and floor coverings, CCTV within the passenger saloons, and refurbished toilets. At the same time, the exteriors of the vehicles were repainted in the updated FGW livery, including artwork depicting various local places of interest. GWR's Class 158 vehicles were refurbished at Wabtec in Doncaster.[93]

GWR also hires a Class 158 (or occasionally a Class 159) from South Western Railway on a daily basis to cover for stock shortages. The units are crewed by GWR staff and usually work on Bristol area routes in order they can easily return to their depot in Salisbury.[citation needed]

In 2018 Class 158s will begin running alongside the first completed 'Short set HST' on services between Cardiff, Bristol, Taunton, Exeter, Plymouth and Penzance. Gradually as more 'Short set HSTs' enter service on the route, the Class 158s will move onto local and cross-county services in and around Exeter.[citation needed]

In April 2018, GWR announced that they were procuring nineteen bi-mode dual voltage Class 769 units from Spring 2019 for use on Reading to Gatwick, Oxford and mainline suburban services to London Paddington to cover the loss of Class 387 units which will operate the Heathrow Express service.[108]

Locomotive-hauled trains were in use on services between Cardiff, Bristol, Taunton and Paignton from December 2008 until November 2010. These were Class 67 and Class 57 locomotives with Mark 2 coaching stock. They had one set of carriages initially, but a further set of carriages between December 2009 and October 2010. These services ran in the short term to cover for the unavailability of DMU trains. When sufficient DMUs were available following the transfer of 6 Class 150/1 sets from London Overground, the locomotives and coaching stock were withdrawn.[109] First Great Western issued a tender in May 2013 so that locomotive-hauled trains, or other train formations, can be operated on the Taunton-Cardiff route again, starting in December 2013. This would cover for its DMUs while they are off for refurbishment on Monday-Friday diagrams. If locomotive-hauled trains were to be used again, they would start four years after the final trains from the previous diagrams ran.[110]

Twelve Class 142Pacer DMUs were received by First Great Western in 2007, starting operations that December. These were loaned from Northern (where they had been stored), in part to cover for refurbishment of FGW's Sprinter fleets but also to allow the Class 158s to be reformed as three coach sets. They were based at Exeter TMD, working alongside the similar Class 143s on services in Devon and Cornwall, including the Avocet Line, Riviera Line and Tarka Line. Five 142s were returned to Northern Rail in late 2008, following the completion of the refresh of Class 150 Sprinter units. The remaining seven units were returned to Northern Rail by November 2011 as they had been replaced by Class 150 units cascaded from London Overground and London Midland following the arrival of new Class 172Turbostar units.

GWR's Night Riviera service also included the UK's last Motorail service, until that aspect was withdrawn at the end of the 2005 summer season due to low usage.

First Great Western previously leased 14 Class 180Adelante units, operating on the Great Western Main Line, but following technical issues they were transferred elsewhere.[111][112] In 2012, five units were returned to First Great Western to operate weekday services on the Cotswold Line, allowing class 165 and 166 units to be reallocated to increase capacity on Thames Valley services.[72] The Class 180s left GWR during 2017 to join Grand Central.[113] The first left the fleet in June 2017;[114] the last transferred in December that year.

The 150/1s in the GWR fleet transferred to Northern in stages, beginning with the first three in August 2017 when their leases expired,[115] and ending in April 2018.[116]

HST in modified Great Western Trains livery with First Group logo and fader vinyls at Reading

A First Great Western Class 150 in the 'Local Lines' livery, worn by former Wessex Trains services

Great Western Trains adopted an ivory and green livery. Following the rebranding as First Great Western, fader vinyls were added to the ivory and a gold bar containing the stylised FirstGroup F and Great Western logos.[117] This livery was sometimes known as the 'fag packet' livery[118]

The rolling stock used on the Night Riviera sleeper service retained the original green and gold First Great Western livery until the stock forming these services was refurbished in 2007, when they were painted into 'dynamic lines' livery with vinyls advertising that the coaches operated the 'Night Riviera Sleeper'.

When the Class 180 Adelante units were delivered, they were painted in the intercity version of FirstGroup's corporate livery. This consisted of a blue base, with purple and gold bars and large pink Fs. The doors were painted white to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. The HST fleet was repainted to match as they went through overhaul; however, the livery on the power cars has been altered, following problems with dirt build-up on the large white areas.[citation needed]

The new Greater Western franchise involved repainting the HST fleet into FirstGroup's 'Dynamic Lines' livery for intercity and commuter services in the former First Great Western and First Great Western Link areas. The livery was initially applied to the HST fleet as they went through refurbishment, although the Class 180 units did not receive the new livery due to the termination of their lease. The commuter units also received the new livery while receiving standard maintenance, as a refurbishment was not originally planned.[119] A second livery known as 'Local Lines' was applied to the DMU fleet, replacing the 'Dynamic Lines' with the names of local attractions forming a similar outline.[120]

The rebranding of the company as Great Western Railway introduced a new, dark green livery in September 2015, which will be rolled out across the fleet by 2018.[32]

Channel 5 broadcast two television series looking into day-to-day challenges of the Great Western mainline, including events at Dawlish (as well as the sea wall destruction), Cheltenham race day and rugby at Cardiff. It was broadcast as "The Railway: First Great Western" and the last series aired in 2015. A similar series based on London Paddington started in September 2017 and covered events such as the reaction to the Manchester and London Bridge attacks, and several days of severe disruption.

The franchise is due to end on 31 March 2020. The Invitation to Tender for the next franchise, describing the improvements that are required, will be set out in February 2019 and the franchise will be awarded in December 2019.[122]

^"GWR Class 150/1's transfer to Northern Trains". Taunton Trains. 12 January 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018. Great Western Railway Class 150/1s (which were originally inherited from Central Trains and Silverlink Trains) are now in the process of being transferred to Northern Trains.